We’re back at it after a week of bouncing all over and family time for Thanksgiving. It was a great week, which also included plenty of hoops! On that note, I was able to see some 2026 NBA Draft prospects in person this week. I’ll have my first 2026 NBA Draft Big Board posted soon. Excited to dive in deeper on what looks to be a very good and very deep draft class!
With that to look forward to, let’s get to the Game Notes. Here’s what I saw on Sunday!
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Boston Celtics - 117 at Cleveland Cavaliers - 115
Both teams entered this one shorthanded. The Celtics were down Neemias Queta and Derrick White, while the Cavaliers were missing Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, Larry Nance Jr. and Lonzo Ball.
Despite having some really limited offensive lineups, Boston was able to score enough to pick up a big road win. That came after holding off a furious Cleveland comeback late, which included some bonkers three-point shooting from Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
Payton Pritchard was awesome for Boston. You know all about the deep three-point shooting by now. Another shot Pritchard has mastered is the midrange pullup. This was a big shot in a big moment for Pritchard and gave him 40 points on the night:
It wasn’t a good shooting night for Jaylen Brown, but he still carried the Celtics by making plays on the boards and as a passer. Boston got a lot of mileage out of corner cuts into the dunker spot when Brown drove middle. This was a nice dish to Jordan Walsh:
Speaking of Jordan Walsh…he’s been really big for the Celtics. Walsh is taking on the opponent’s top scorer most nights. And he’s contributing offensively too. Walsh had career-highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to chasing Donovan Mitchell around all game long.
With Neemias Queta sidelined, Joe Mazzulla went to Xavier Tillman Sr. at center. Tillman does a really good job in the “stay ready” role for Boston. He was productive on both ends for the Celtics. This was a nice steal and layup here:
Boston’s bigs battle Evan Mobley but didn’t really have an answer for him. It was good to see Mobley aggressively looking for his shot. This was a nice move to dribble into the turnaround jumper:
Jaylon Tyson continues to impress as a three-point shooter. He’s up to 46.1% on the season, mostly on spot-up shots. Really good stuff for the Cavs.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin has been one of the best two-way contract guys in the league thus far this season. He’s given the Cavs consistently good minutes, including playing in crunch time in this one. This was a strong finish for the second-chance bucket:
Atlanta Hawks - 142 at Philadelphia 76ers - 134 OT2
Jalen Johnson should be an All-Star this year, assuming the new format doesn’t force some tough cuts. Johnson was terrific again in this one, as the Hawks continue to transition to being his team. Not only did Johnson have 41 points, including two big threes late in the second OT, and 14 rebounds, but Johnson had seven assists. This was his first one, but look how Johnson pauses and adjusts the angle of his pass to drop the dime on Dyson Daniels:
The Hawks had the ball popping all game long. Atlanta had 36 assists on 48 baskets for the game. That included five different players tallying between five and eight assists.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has become a better offensive player than I ever imagined he would. This play is chaotic, but Alexander-Walker calmly dribbles into and nails the late-clock pullup:
The Hawks are starting to let Onyeka Okongwu do more distribution each game. This was a nice find to Dyson Daniels on the backdoor cut:
Tyrese Maxey has more energy than anyone else in the NBA. He wasn’t perfect in this one, but Maxey was still incredible. This drive came in the second overtime, when Maxey was sitting on about 50 minutes played:
Dominick Barlow shows up every game and does helpful things. This was a great block in overtime (and yes, replay showed the block was clean!) on Jalen Johnson:
Joel Embiid was mostly fine on offense. That’s because he’s the one setting the action and he knows where he’s going. On defense, Embiid looked really rough. He couldn’t move to stay in front of ballhandlers. And his lack of movement really showed up on the glass. Embiid can’t move for rebounds that aren’t in his immediate area. If this is the version the Sixers are going to get, that’s a problem now and for the long-term, considering Embiid’s contract.
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